Kieran Foran was Colonel for one night only but is the coach for the next three years as he celebrated his new deal in style. The Sea Eagles legend ditched the interim tag and was crowned the Colonel for one night only, with the Manly legend sprinkling his secret herbs and spices all over his team as a crucial sin bin period helped them hold off the Rabbitohs. Manly is now 8-2 since Foran took over after they beat the Bunnies 28-14 at Foz Pines Park in front of 15,451 fans who braved the wintry conditions on Thursday night.
There is a vibe around the northern beaches after Kieran Foran celebrated his new deal with a win. The victory moves Manly into third spot for now, which seemed impossible only a few months ago when they lost their opening three matches at home, resulting in Anthony Seibold parting ways with the club. Foran worked his magic as interim coach but is now locked in for the next three years, with the community getting behind the former five-eighth with the KFC at Manly Vale putting his face on the signage. And the FozBall signs – whatever that actually means – were being held up all over the hill after Tolu Koula produced a lightning quick tip on to set up the winner to all but ensure he retains his Origin spot.
Courageous Clayton
Manly's fullback woes continued with Clayton Faulalo forced off midway through the second half with a left hamstring injury. But it did not stop him from fighting on, with Faulalo sensationally scoring a few plays later when he burst through on the right edge to put his side up by eight. It was a mixed night for the fill-in fullback who was sent to the sin bin earlier in the game, with the club hoping to get superstar skipper Tom Trbojevic back in round 16. The Sea Eagles were 6-0 down when he was sent from the field, with Souths slotting the penalty goal to push further in front but unable to do any more scoreboard damage with an extra man on the field.
Instead, it was Manly who scored the only other points of the sin bin period when Jason Saab strolled over in the right corner to get them on the board. Fellow winger Lehi Hopoate punished a Campbell Graham error to grab their next try, while Luke Brooks produced a superb tackle to deny Ed Kosi in the corner. Souths had nothing in attack as they slumped to their third loss in a row.
Going Souths
The Rabbitohs have now lost three on the trot and continue to struggle without superstar centre Latrell Mitchell who is still a couple of weeks away. It is the third game in a row they have failed to score 20 points, with a couple of 40/20 kicks helping them score their only tries of the night. Halves Cody Walker and Ashton Ward nailed two brilliant kicks which led to tries to a couple of their forwards, but the backline plays did not have their usual fizz. They face the Broncos next week in a game that both teams simply need to win to turn their seasons around.
